SYLLABUS 1OT502: Hebrew I RTS-Jackson 3 credits Fall 2010 Dr. Daniel Timmer [email protected] Teaching Assistants: Justin Richardson, Matthew Elliott A. COURSE DESCRIPTION An introduction to the language of Biblical Hebrew, including basic grammar, syntax and vocabulary. 3 credit hours. No prerequisites. B. COURSE OBJECTIVES This course is designed to be the first course of a two-part study of the Hebrew language. Our goal is to master the fundamentals of biblical Hebrew grammar (textbook) and to apply those skills to the art of translating the biblical text (workbook). After the successful completion of Hebrew 1 and 2, students will be able to: 1. Translate into English all Hebrew words that occur in the Old Testament 50 times or more. 2. Locate all Hebrew words that occur 49 times or less in the Hebrew Bible in any of the standard lexicons used in this class and identified in the bibliography (below). 3. Analyze (parse) Hebrew words in the categories of (1) parts of speech (noun, verb, etc.) and (2) word inflection (masculine, feminine, singular, plural, etc.). 4. Given the first three objectives listed above, with the use of a standard lexicon and occasional reference to the grammar text, the student will be able to translate Hebrew verses (sentences) from the Old Testament into modern and idiomatic English. C. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS *The grammar and workbook must be brought to class every day. Supplemental materials are available to students at www.basicsofbiblicalhebrew.com. Pratico, Gary D. and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Grammar, 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2007. Pratico, Gary D. and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Workbook, 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2007. Van Pelt, Miles V. and Gary D. Pratico. Charts of Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2008. Recommended Van Pelt, Miles V. and Gary D. Pratico. The Vocabulary Guide to Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2003. Van Pelt, Miles V. and Gary D. Pratico. Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary Cards. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2004. Van Pelt, Miles V., and Gary D. Pratico. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Audio. Read by Jonathan T. Pennington. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006. Pratico, Gary D. and Miles V. Van Pelt. Pratico. Zondervan Get an A! Study Guides: Biblical Hebrew.2 D. C. Timmer, RTS-Jackson, 2010 Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2005. D. COURSE ASSIGNMENTS The emphasis in this class is student performance. Students must come prepared to class each day ready to participate in the instructional process. This means that all of the assigned reading from the grammar and all of the assigned homework from the workbook must be completed by the beginning of the class period for which it is assigned (see schedule below). Failure to comply will inhibit acceptable performance and impede the benefit of the classroom experience for other students. 1. Chapel. Chapel reminds us of why we study Hebrew. It is not primarily an academic exercise but rather an act of devotion and humble submission to the rigors of our calling. Weekly attendance on Tuesday is, therefore, required. Students are permitted two unexcused absences during the semester. Chapel attendance constitutes 10% of the term grade. 2. Homework. There will be daily assignments from your workbook (see schedule below). Each day, individuals will be selected to answer questions from the homework or grammar lesson. Weekly quizzes (see below) are derived primarily from the homework assigned in the workbook. Additionally, there will be regular assignments for memorizing Bible verses in Hebrew. Both homework and verse memorization will be evaluated during the weekly quizzes. 3. Quizzes. There will be a quiz on Friday of each week (except when major exams are scheduled). These quizzes will focus on the information learned during that week. However, due to the very nature of learning a language, quizzes are, in essence, cumulative. Students scoring below 80% on a given quiz will be required to attend scheduled tutoring sessions during the following week. There are absolutely no make-up quizzes, but the lowest two quizzes will be dropped. Total quiz scores constitute 70% of the semester grade. 4. Tests. There will be two review exams during the semester. All exams are cumulative. Exam scores constitute 20% of the semester grade (Exam 1 = 5%; Exam 2 = 15%). The final exam for Hebrew 1 occurs on the first day of Hebrew 2. Weighting of Assignments Chapel 10 Quizzes 70 Exams (2) 20 E. MISCELLANEOUS 1. The grading scale for the course is as follows. 95-100% A 90-94% A- 86-89% B+ 83-85% B 80-82 B- 0-79% F Cheating or plagiarism will be dealt with in accordance with the Student Handbook. Since cheating and plagiarism are tantamount to theft, either may result in a failing mark for the assignment concerned, a failing mark for the course, or dismissal from the Seminary. 2. Attendance and Late Assignments. Language acquisition can be a difficult task and requires constant vigilance in the beginning stages. Students are required to be ready and in their seats by 7:55 am. Students are also required to sit as close to the front of the classroom as possible with no empty seats remaining.3 D. C. Timmer, RTS-Jackson, 2010 3. In order to ensure full participation, any student with a disability requiring special accommodations (voice recording, special equipment, reading or writing needs) is encouraged to contact the professor before the beginning of the course. 4. Apart from special circumstances, you are kindly requested to not use laptop computers in class. In all cases, please turn off and refrain from using PDAs, iPods, cell phones, and the like. 5. This syllabus is intended to represent accurately the learning objectives, instructional format, and other information so that students are able to appraise the course. However, the instructor reserves the right to modify any part of this syllabus during the semester in light of events or circumstances which may present themselves during the semester. F. COURSE SCHEDULE Week, Dates Topic/Activity 1, 22-28 Aug Intro, BBH 1, quiz 2, 29 Aug-4 Sep BBH 2-3, quiz 3, 5-11 Sep BBH 4, quiz (Labor Day Mon, no class Tues) 4, 12-18 Sep BBH 5-6, quiz 5, 19-25 Sep BBH 7-8, quiz 6, 26 Sep-2 Oct BBH 9-10, quiz 7, 3-9 Oct BBH 11, review, Exam 1 8, 10-16 Oct -Reading week- 9, 17-23 Oct